Year-Old R.I. Shop Breaks Foundation Work

A year-long labor of love by Eric Cote and Ken D’Ambrosio culminates this week in Washington, D.C., with the launch of the Protecting People First Foundation. The foundation’s national spokeswoman is Aren Almon-Kok, whose 1-year-old daughter, Baylee, was killed in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Many people were killed or injured by flying glass in the explosion. The foundation promotes the use of safety glass in all buildings, particularly those where childcare centers are located, and is being supported by a number of companies allied with the protective glazing industry. It also is working to convince Congress and the Clinton Administration to appropriate funds for the protective products. Initial funds for the foundation were donated by a division of New England Sun Control called Guardian Bastille in Smithtown, R.I. Southwest Airlines donated travel. Cote & D’Ambrosio in Saunderstown, R.I., helped name the division then developed the foundation and subsequent collateral and promotions both as a way to build a new market for the client and to raise awareness about the fatal effects of flying glass. Central to the foundation’s promotional efforts is a logo developed from the enduring photograph of Baylee being carried from the Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City by firefighter Chris Fields. The campaign is the embodiment of a year’s worth of work for Cote, former press secretary to Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Almond, and D’Ambrosio, a commercial photographer, art director and professor at the Rhode Island School of Design. Almon-Kok is scheduled to testify before Congress this week and make an appearance on NBC’s Today show. Cote and D’Ambrosio won’t be far away. K